Mike Nichols' superbly directed cinematic adaptation of Joseph Heller's scathing black comedy. 'Catch 22' is the tale of a small group of flyers in the Mediterranean in 1944. There are winners and losers opportunists and survivors. Separately and together they are frightened nervous often profane and sometimes pathetic. Almost all are a little crazy. 'Catch 22' is an anti-war satire of epic proportions!
Cocoon: A group of senior citizens residing in a rest home find their lives turned upside down after they are offered the gift of eternal youth by benevolent aliens in Ron Howard's wonderful tribute to the human spirit. Brian Dennehy is Walter an alien who returns to earth to rescue 20 of his friends now hibernating in cocoons off the coast of Florida. With the help of a charter boat captain (Steve Guttenberg) the cocoons are stored in a deserted swimming pool. When three men
In 1985 Cocoon was a significant trend-bucker amongst summer blockbusters. Whereas other genre efforts were devised to lure a teenage audience into FX extravaganzas, this looked like one for their grandparents. Except that it turned out to be a gentle, affecting tale for all ages. Adapted from David Saperstein's novel, director Ron Howard took great delight in focusing on family relationships and the encroachment of old age (themes that reappeared in nearly all his work from here on). The plot is rather surreal in summary: a group of Florida OAPs befriend aliens in next-door's swimming pool and are rejuvenated to youthful well-being. It's in the FX and characterisations that the story comes alive. Both were acknowledged with Academy Awards; with Don Ameche's supporting role deserving praise for more than just the moment when he does some bodypopping on the dance floor. Wilford Brimley is the real star, a bluff old codger wanting to do right by everyone. Steve Guttenberg provides comic support and allows for a little non-wrinkly nudity with foxy space gal Kitty (Tahnee Welch). ILM's visuals remain polished and inspired, but never allowing us to lose sight of the characters basking in their dazzle. --Paul Tonks
The stellar duo of George C Scott (The Day of the Dolphin) and Joanne Woodward (The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds) headline They Might Be Giants, an eccentric and touching comedy. Grief-stricken widower Justin Playfair begins to believe he is Sherlock Holmes. Briefly institutionalised, he teams up with his doctor - coincidentally named Watson - and, together, they follow a string of clues across New York City as they search for their elusive arch-enemy, Moriarty... Based on a play by award-winning writer James Goldman (The Lion in Winter, Robin and Marion) and directed by Anthony Harvey (Dutchman), They Might Be Giants is an innovative reworking of Don Quixote, and is presented here in three variant cuts. Product Features High Definition remaster Three presentations of the film: the original US theatrical cut (91 mins); the UK theatrical cut (86 mins); and the extended television version (98 mins) Original mono audio Audio commentary with director Anthony Harvey and film preservationist Robert A Harris (2000) Audio commentary with writers and film experts Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman (2023) Madness It's Beautiful (1971): archival promotional documentary Kim Newman on Sherlock Holmes (2023): the critic and author of Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles discusses the many cinematic adaptations and interpretations of the famous fictional detective Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Limited edition booklet featuring a new essay by XXX, and full film credits UK premiere on Blu-ray Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK Extras subject to change
In 1985 Cocoon was a significant trend-bucker amongst summer blockbusters. Whereas other genre efforts were devised to lure a teenage audience into FX extravaganzas, this looked like one for their grandparents. Except that it turned out to be a gentle, affecting tale for all ages. Adapted from David Saperstein's novel, director Ron Howard took great delight in focusing on family relationships and the encroachment of old age (themes that reappeared in nearly all his work from here on). The plot is rather surreal in summary: a group of Florida OAPs befriend aliens in next-door's swimming pool and are rejuvenated to youthful well-being. It's in the FX and characterisations that the story comes alive. Both were acknowledged with Academy Awards; with Don Ameche's supporting role deserving praise for more than just the moment when he does some bodypopping on the dance floor. Wilford Brimley is the real star, a bluff old codger wanting to do right by everyone. Steve Guttenberg provides comic support and allows for a little non-wrinkly nudity with foxy space gal Kitty (Tahnee Welch). ILM's visuals remain polished and inspired, but never allowing us to lose sight of the characters basking in their dazzle. --Paul Tonks
Eureka Entertainment to release THE INCIDENT, the raw and intense 1967 New York thriller featuring Martin Sheen, Tony Musante and an ensemble cast, making its WORLDWIDE DEBUT on Blu-ray in a Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition as part of the Eureka Classics range from 12 August 2019. A riveting urban tension thriller, and a fantastic snapshot of 1967 New York City in all its seedy, black-and-white glory, The Incident also features an iconic 60s cast that must be seen to be believed. Martin Sheen makes his feature film debut as one of two small-time hoods the other is Tony Musante (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) in one of his earliest roles terrorising a subway car full of trapped passengers, portrayed by an ensemble cast including Thelma Ritter (Rear Window), Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys), Ed McMahon, Donna Mills (Play Misty for Me), Jack Gilford (Save the Tiger), Brock Peters (To Kill a Mockingbird), Ruby Dee (A Raisin in the Sun), and a host of other instantly recognisable faces from NYC films and television of the era. After mugging an old man for a few dollars, thugs Artie (Sheen) and Joe (Musante) hop a subway deep in the Bronx, and proceed to threaten and intimidate the Sunday night commuters all the way to Times Square. The terrified riders are a mixed group an elderly Jewish couple, a family trying to protect their 5-year-old daughter, an alcoholic, two teens on a date, two military Privates, a bigoted African-American man and his wife, etc. but they are united by their fear and sense of helplessness as switchblade-wielding Joe and Artie block the subway doors from opening at stops, and prevent the riders from leaving. Will any of them have the courage to confront the two maniacs? A high-velocity home invasionĀ-styled hostage drama on rails, The Incident is a NYC transit suspense film that precedes the better-known The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by seven years. When director Larry Peerce (Goodbye, Columbus) and cinematographer Gerald Hirschfeld (Young Frankenstein) were denied permission to shoot in the NYC subways, they did it anyway, using concealed cameras for some footage, providing a gritty time capsule of the 60s Big Apple as it begins to rot.
Justin Playfair (George C. Scott) is a retired New York judge who retreats into fantasy following the death of his wife. Believing himself to be Sherlock Holmes, equipped with deerstalker hat, pipe and cape, he whiles away his days in a homemade criminal lab where he plots to foil the dastardly schemes of elusive arch-enemy Moriarty. When his brother Blevins (Lester Rawlins) tries to have him committed to a mental institution, Playfair is assessed by psychiatrist Mildred Watson (Joanne Woodward), who becomes absorbed by his delusions. In no time at all, Dr. Watson becomes the bogus fictional detective's constant companion. What follows is a playful exploration of individuality and insanity in an alienating world, in which phantom obsessions and shared mysteries can lead to true fellowship and romance. Adapted by James Goldman (The Lion in Winter) from his own stage play, They Might be Giants is a captivating Quixote for modern times.
The words of the opening song pretty much describe the menu in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum--"Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone: a comedy tonight!"--a frantic adaptation of the stage musical by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove. The wild story, based on the Latin comedies of Plautus and set in ancient Rome, follows a slave named Pseudolus (Zero Mostel, snorting and gibbering) as he tries to extricate himself from an increasingly farcical situation; Mostel and a bevy of inspired clowns, including Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford and Buster Keaton, keep the slapstick and the patter perking. The cast also includes the young Michael Crawford as a love-struck innocent. This project landed in the lap of Richard Lester, then one of the hottest directors in the world after his success with the Beatles' films. Lester telescoped the material through his own joke-a-second sensibility, and also ripped out some of the songs from Stephen Sondheim's Broadway score. The result is very close to the vaudeville spirit suggested by the title--though anyone with a low tolerance for Zero Mostel's overbearing buffoonery may be in trouble. Oddly enough, amid all the frenzy, Lester creates a grungy, earthy Rome that seems closer to the real thing than countless respectable historical films on the subject. Frankie Howerd, who played Pseudolus on the London stage, kept the tradition going with his Up Pompeii TV series. --Robert Horton
Journey to the most wonderful place in the universe...home. In director Daniel Petrie's sequel to the smash hit 'Cocoon' the retirees who chose to leave earth to live forever return home for a temporary visit with their loved ones while their alien escorts attempt to rescue a cocoon dislodged by a pesky oceanographer (Courteney Cox). Don Ameche is back as Art Selwyn with his friends Ben Luckett (Wilford Brimley) and Joe Finley (Hume Cronyn) and their wives Bess (Gwen Verd
Mike Nichols' superbly directed cinematic adaptation of Joseph Heller's scathing black comedy. 'Catch 22' is the tale of a small group of flyers in the Mediterranean in 1944. There are winners and losers opportunists and survivors. Separately and together they are frightened nervous often profane and sometimes pathetic. Almost all are a little crazy. 'Catch 22' is an anti-war satire of epic proportions!
This prehistoric spoof follows poor lovesick Atouk (Starr) who is the weakest caveman of the tribe and therefore unable to win the heart of the beautiful Lana (Bach). Banished from the cave by Lana's mate chief Tonda (Matuszak) he's forced to wander the wilderness. Soon he meets some other outcasts and becomes chief of his own tribe of misfits! Leading his band of oddballs into battle Atouk is on a mission to knock Tonda off his throne and carry Lana away by her hair! With an
Director John G. Avildsen's Save The Tiger is a complex character study of businessman Harry Stoner (Jack Lemmon bagging his second Oscar) the CEO of a once-successful clothing company in 1970s Los Angeles. He and his business partner Phil Greene (the great Jack Gilford) have seen better days - their company is failing and on the eve of an important fashion show they must make a decision about its future. Harry believes that the only way out of their financial cri
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